This article was first published in Fast Company on October 9, 2017.These are five key questions investors ask to determine whether they’re being pitched by emotionally intelligent founders.Along with why it matters to them and what it means for entrepreneurs and those supporting and working with them. Read more…

I’m always looking for data based ways to provide my three boys with more tools to (hopefully) both help their mental wellness and their ability to live mindful lives.

Never an easy task but often especially challenging since we are doing it without the structure of organized religion – so it was great to have the chance to chat with Ali Hassan about his own experiences on this similar journey.

I started my first business, a communications consultancy in the UK eleven years ago. It was a super stressful time, my partner had also recently launched a media start up and we had just become parents. There were cash flow ups and downs, the highs of winning clients and the pressure of scrambling to make up for contracts that weren’t renewed and deals that didn’t close.

Studies show that 30 percent of startups fail due to the emotional state of their founders; 72 percent of entrepreneurs deal with some type of mental illness and, in turn, 49 percent of first-degree relationships (spouses, partners, children and parents) will develop mental health issues themselves from the second-hand stress of the entrepreneur.

Pro athletes, celebrities, Fortune 100 CEOs and Silicon Valley billionaires have rhapsodized on how meditation and mindfulness are the most effective tools for health, personal performance and well-being since, well, exercise. Like yoga and running before it, mindfulness tools and meditation programs are now big business – with popular apps like Headspace, the Mindfulness App and Buddhify receiving tens of millions of downloads.

I’m also in awe of the host – Anna Maria Tremonti - and so having the chance to speak with her about the incredible impact that mandatory paternity leave would have was both nerve wracking and quite cool.

I’ve never been able to sit through a full episode of The Apprentice. President-Elect Donald Trump’s management and communication style flashes me back to my own three-month stint working with a boss like that.

I usually write about issues, ideas or situations that I’m struggling to better navigate or figure out – this piece on getting better at negotiating and talking about money is the perfect example. I wrote this for Fast Company - and ironically, I was not paid for the piece…Read more…

While Canadian dads are more involved with family life than ever before, currently, only one in 10 eligible Canadian fathers claims parental-leave benefits (a number that has held constant since the mid-2000s).